Open Letter to Secretary Cohen

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515

March 19, 1998

The Honorable William S. Cohen
Secretary of Defense
Room 3E880
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20310

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We are writing to express our concern about the ongoing national security threat from Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro. Specifically we are convinced that the Castro dictatorship is a major enemy
of our efforts to shield America’s frontiers from the drug threat, and we are additionally
concerned about Castro’s ability to develop biological and chemical weapons. Castro is
technically capable of many of the same types of things we know Saddam Hussein is doing and
the Castro dictatorship is the only rogue regime that is 90 miles from our coastline.

We are appalled about current attempts to downplay the Castro threat and are deeply
disappointed that the Department of Defense refuses to acknowledge Castro’s ongoing threat to
the United States. We have received extremely disturbing reports that Department of
Defense plans to officially minimize the threat assessment of Castro’s Cuba and that this
may be utilized to subsequently remove Castro from the State Department’s Terrorist
List.
Despite Cuba’s economic situation, Castro remains a dangerous and unstable dictator with the
intentions and capability to hurt U.S. interests.

Thirty-five years ago, during the Cuban missile crisis, Castro urged a nuclear first strike by the
Soviet Union against the United States. Ten years ago, Cuban General Rafael del Pino disclosed
that Cuban combat pilots train for air strikes against military targets in South Florida. Five years
ago, a Cuban airforce defector in a MIG-29 fighter aircraft — flying undetected until outside Key
West, Florida — confirmed that he had trained to attack the Turkey Point nuclear power facility in
South Florida. Two years ago, Castro ordered Cuban MIG-29 fighter aircraft to attack and kill
unarmed American civilians flying in international airspace just miles from the United States.

There is a pathologically unstable tyrant in the final years of his dictatorship just 90 miles from
our
shores. His four decade record of brutality, rabid hostility toward the Cuban exile community,
anti-Americanism, support for international terrorism, and proximity to the United States is an
ominous combination.

When considering the potential threat from Castro, the following must be noted:

• Despite the end of the Cold War, Castro continues to espouse a hard line, using apocalyptic
  rhetoric, proclaiming “socialism or death”, ranting about a final reckoning with the United
  States, and punishing any Cuban who advocates genuine political or economic reform.
• Castro maintains one of Latin America’s largest militaries, with capabilities completely
  inconsistent with Cuba’s economic reality and security needs.
• Despite Cuba’s economic failure, Castro has the capability to finance special projects through
  his network of criminal enterprises and billions of dollars of hard currency reserves he
  maintains in hidden foreign accounts.
• Castro has a proven capability to penetrate U.S. airspace with military aircraft and to
  conduct
  aggressive shoot-down operations in international airspace just outside the U.S.
• Castro is training elite special forces units in Vietnam, who are prepared to attack U.S.
  military
  targets during a final confrontation, according to Janes Defense Weekly.
• Castro actively maintains political and scientific exchanges with each of the countries on the
  Department of State’s List of Terrorist Nations.
• Castro continues to provide logistical support for international terrorism and pro-Castro
  guerilla groups, and Cuban-trained international terrorists are still active around the world,
  most ominously in Columbia.
• Castro continues to coordinate and facilitate the flow of illicit drugs through Cuba into the
  United States.
• Castro continues to offer Cuba as a haven for drug-smugglers, criminals and international
  terrorists, including more than 90 felony fugitives wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• The Lourdes electronic espionage facility is used to spy against U.S. military and economic
  targets, including the intercept of highly-classified 1990 Persian Gulf battle plans.
• Castro is working with Russia — which recently extended a $350 million line of credit for
  “priority installations” in Cuba — and anyone else willing to offer assistance to complete the
  nuclear reactor at Juragua.
• Castro has access to all the chemical and biological agents necessary to develop germ and
  chemical weapons.
• Despite Cuba’s failed economy, Castro has constructed a secretive network of sophisticated
  biotechnology labs fully capable of developing chemical and biological weapons. These labs
  are operated by the military and Interior Ministry, are highly-secure and off-limits to foreigners
  and visiting scientists.
• Under the guise of genetic, biological and pharmaceutical research, Castro is developing a
  serious germ and chemical warfare capability.
• Castro has the ability to deliver biological and chemical weapons with military aircraft,
  various
  unconventional techniques, and perhaps, missile systems increasingly available in the
  international black market.

Tyrants are most dangerous when they are wounded and dying. Given Cuba’s proximity
to
the U.S. and Castro’s proven instability, it would be an unacceptable and potentially tragic
mistake to underestimate his capabilities. We request that Castro be kept on the State
Department’s List of Terrorist Nations and that a realistic threat assessment be made — which
includes an examination of Cuba’s biotechnical capabilities — as the Castro dictatorship moves
towards its final stage.

Cordially,

/signed/
Lincoln Diaz-Balart

/signed/
Robert Menendez

/signed/
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

/signed/
Dan Burton

/signed/
Gerald B.H. Solomon

/signed/
Christopher Smith

/signed/
Dana Rohrabacher

/signed/
Randy “Duke” Cunningham

/signed/
Peter Deutsch

cc: Madeleine Albright
Secretary of State